India won the battle of the ‘I’ nations with a one-sided victory over Ireland in Hamilton on day 24 of the Cricket World Cup. India’s ninth win in a row made possible because of a fine opening partnership between Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma. See more on the action below:
Day 24 Results
India v Ireland
Ireland made it nine World Cup wins on the bounce with a comfortable eight wicket win over Ireland.
The defending World Cup champions made light work of Ireland’s 259, requiring just four of their batsman to pad up and 36.5 overs to get there. Ireland’s 259 always looked 50 short on a pristine Hamilton surface, and that proved to be the case when Dhawan and Rohit combined to knock off 174 of them in the opening stand. The win means India top Pool B, and keep their incredible run of victories from the 2011 tournament going.
Ireland had earlier started the day in exceptionally positive fashion. Openers, William Portefield (67) and Paul Stirling (42) set Ireland on their way to a big total by adding 89 for the first wicket and seeing off India’s surprisingly effective seam bowlers. However, the introduction of spin through Ashwin, Raina, and Jadeja slowed the European Champions momentum and cause more than a few rash strokes. The wickets tended to arrive in clumps, and despite the best efforts of Niall O’Brien (75), the regular wickets meant Ireland fell well short of the 300 they were on track for earlier. In fact, it took a giggly last wicket partnership to get to 259.
India will be grateful they could sneak in a full 10 overs from Raina – that shouldn’t happen in international cricket, but it did, and he took a bonus 1-40.
India’s run chase was a canter. Dhawan’s second hundred of the tournament flung him to second on the run scoring charts, and further outlined just how dangerous the Indian team are from 1-11. He was dropped twice and the punishment went on to become a record opening stand for India at World Cups. Rohit Sharma also made light work of the chase with a quick 64, before Kohli and Rahane finished off the win in style. The Irish bowlers have always been the weak link in the side, and unfortunately they were too unthreatening on a docile Seddon Park pitch.
One more game each, India against Zimbabwe; Ireland a crunch potential qualifier against Pakistan.
India 260 for 2 (Dhawan 100, Rohit 64) beat Ireland 259 (N O’Brien 75, Porterfield 67, Shami 3-41) by 8 wickets
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